FACT SHEET: Uranium Mining and Milling by Lizzy Bloem

Ban Depleted Uranium.com has a great FACT SHEET by Lizzy Bloem that defines lots of the terms used in the mining industry. I've found it quite helpful in understanding many of the articles I've read here and in other places on the web while attempting to learn about the issues facing Southside. It's available in its entirety by clicking on the link below, should you want to add it to your Favorites/Bookmarks.

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/32.html

Uranium is used mainly to fuel nuclear reactors. In 2004, 440 reactors generate around 16% of the world's electricity. For this, huge amounts of rock are mined and extracted. For example, a 1300-megawatt reactor consumes around 33 tons of uranium a year. To produce this amount of uranium, about 440,000 tons of uranium ore have to be processed.

29 September 2006 - ICBUW

1. Ore

Uranium mineral can be found everywhere on earth, but only mineral of economic interest is called ore. Often extraction is too costly, for uranium can occur in very complex combinations with other elements. Usually the quantity of uranium in rocks is too low to make extraction worthwhile.

Even the uranium ore usually mined contains a very small percentage of uranium (0.12 %). Since 1999, Canadian ore deposits have been explored containing as much as 13% uranium. Ores called pitchblende, uraninite and carnotite are mostly mined.

All ore contains radioactive uranium, lead, polonium, bismuth, thorium, radium, protactinium and radon gas. These are radioactive decay products from uranium. Also other toxic elements like nickel, cadmium, molybdenum, vanadium, arsenic and mercury may be present in the minerals. Radon gas is a particular danger. The radioactive gas easily escapes from the rock and always surrounds a rock or mine site.

2. Mining technologies

Different techniques are used to obtain uranium from the rock. Uranium is extracted from ore at uranium mills and at in situ leach (ISL) facilities. Uranium is also obtained as by-product from non-conventional uranium plants, like the phosphate industry. Mining and milling generate waste rock, sludge, tailings (dried sludge), wastewater and leached areas.

Currently, over half of the world's uranium comes from underground mines, about 27% from open pits and 19% from ISL. In the US, about 16% of the domestically produced uranium comes from the phosphate industry.

2.1.1. Conventional uranium mines

Mining process

Traditionally, uranium ore was dug from open pits. In open pit mines, the ore deposits are located near the surface. To excavate the rocks, the traditional mining methods of drilling and blasting are used. These pits often have enormous dimensions.

In the 1970?s shaft mines opened to employ deep underground ore bodies. Underground mining involves construction of access tunnels and shafts.

Because ore contains such low concentrations of uranium, huge amounts of rock must be mined.

To keep groundwater out of the mine during operations, large amounts of contaminated water are pumped out and mostly released into rivers and lakes. When the pumps are shut down after the closure of the mine, there is a great risk of groundwater contamination from the rising water level in the shafts.

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